Along with sunnier skies and warmer days ahead, officials are also preparing for the start of fire season.

The Bureau of Land Management Colorado District fire crews and the BLM Lake Havasu Field Office recreation staff recently completed clearing dead and flammable vegetation at 87 boat-in campsites on Lake Havasu prior to fire season, according to a press release. The campsites, located along the shoreline, can only be accessed by boat or hiking, and see consistent vegetation growth that require limiting because of possible fire hazards, BLM Havasu Assistant Mike Henderson said.

“Some of it can grow at a rate of one foot a month and you get vegetative encroachment so there is less space to camp and it becomes a big fire hazard in and around the campsite,” Henderson said, adding that plant species such as arrow weed and salt cedar grow year round. “What we’re trying to do is remove those fuels away from the campsites.”

Removing the vegetation meant several weeks’ work for some BLM officials.

“We’ve had crews working at the boat-in campsites for the past month,” said BLM Colorado District fuels specialist Wade Reaves in the release. “The vegetation grows so fast – particularly Arrow weed – that we have to keep it trimmed back … or we’ll have problems later this year. Boat-in camping along Lake Havasu is very popular.”

While the process occurs twice a year, officials are looking to avoid a similar situation to the desert vegetation blaze Feb. 24 at Rotary Park.

“The fire near Rotary Beach two weeks ago was quite a wakeup call for the community,” Colorado District Fire Management Officer Tim Duck said in the release. “Vegetation will burn now. We want to remind folks to be careful with fire and start looking at their property with fire safety in mind.”

Henderson said there have been a few fires caused by people in the past.

“(The cleanup) is not in direct response to the Rotary fire,” he said. “We have had some that have been around the barbeque grill sites and it typically becomes a problem around the Fourth of July with fireworks.”

Henderson added that the chances of a fire spreading far are slim but human safety is the primary concern.

“It depends on how much vegetation there is. As for a fire spreading into the back country, I think there’s very little chance,” he said. “But you never know if a fire starts at a campsite, if someone is around that can get caught in it.”

The hot, dry months of summer, combined with stronger winds could potentially cause big problems if the vegetation was left unchecked, Henderson said.

“If you get those temperatures high and a decent wind, that stuff can spread faster than you can run,” Henderson said. “You can’t really outrun a wildfire.”

To report a wildfire, residents are asked to call the State Fire Dispatch at 800-309-7081.

You can contact the reporter at nbruttell@havasunews.com